Unstoppable like Michael Schumacher once was, Max Verstappen crowned a grandiose race to catch up with victory on the cult Formula 1 circuit in Spa. 30 years after the record champion’s first triumph in Belgium, the Red Bull driver stormed from 14th on the grid almost playfully to the delight of tens of thousands of Oranje fans.
After his ninth victory in the 14th race of the season, Verstappen is rapidly approaching his second world title. Team-mate Sergio Perez completed the one-two for Red Bull, 17.8 seconds back in Belgium, with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz third. “Great Sunday guys,” Verstappen said over the radio.
In the first race after the summer break, Verstappen did not let a grid penalty for an illegal engine change slow him down and basically destroyed all hopes of more excitement in the World Championship fight. The Dutchman is now 93 points ahead of Perez. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari is only in third place in the world championship driver standings, and his own race to catch up ended in fifth place.
Haas driver Mick Schumacher, whose father had won from 16th place in the rain during one of his many Spa moments in 1995, had to settle for 17th place. Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin secured three World Championship points in eighth place.
For record world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 restart was over after a crash in the fifth corner with Alpine veteran Fernando Alonso after the first lap. “What an idiot. He only knows how to drive when he’s the first to start,” Alonso complained about the Mercedes man, who trotted lonely back to the paddock on a gravel road.
“When I look at the pictures: He was in my blind spot, I didn’t see him, I’m so sorry for the team,” said Hamilton and said of the insult to the Spaniard: “I don’t care what he says. It was my fault, he was in a blind spot. Things like that happen.”
Not Verstappen, not Leclerc: Pole secured Sainz in the second Ferrari after a flood of penalties for illegally replacing engine parts. Red Bull pursuer Perez got off to a bad start. Verstappen, on the other hand, did great first laps from 14th place and worked his way up to eighth place. Leclerc was right behind in ninth, Vettel raced from ten to five.
A crash on the second lap between Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo and Williams driver Nicholas Latifi prompted the safety car. Leclerc complained about smoke in the front right, came into the pits and switched from soft to medium rubber. He fell back to 17th place.
A year after the spa farce, when Verstappen was classified as the winner in the continuous rain after an XXL waiting time and only two laps, the fans were given a crazy show, especially by the Dutchman. The 24-year-old continued to roll up the field from behind and took the lead after the first Sainz stop on the twelfth lap. Schumacher struggled after starting third from the bottom of the field, Vettel was in the fight for points.
But Verstappen made steam right at the front. On lap 15 he switched to the medium tire compound. After his stop, the champion returned to the tarmac behind the now leader Sainz and was just four seconds behind the Spaniard.
Verstappen was then sometimes 2.4 seconds faster than the Ferrari driver and on lap 18 he was over. Leclerc had previously said the world champion’s pace was “scary”. Only three laps later, Verstappen’s team-mate Perez easily conceded Sainz and was now second himself.
This cemented order at the top. The fans in Spa, who will also experience a Grand Prix on site in 2023, cheered the world champion frenetically after crossing the finish line.
